Back to school, but without books and basics in Mississippi
RICHTON, Miss. — When Superintendent Noal Cochran had an open teaching position in this quiet town, he looked for applicants at the bottom of the salary ladder—those with as little experience as possible. When he needed a new football coach, he wanted a rookie “straight out of college” who would accept a smaller stipend.
And when he needed new textbooks, he chose history over physics or chemistry—subjects less likely to need updating.
“When you’re trying to survive and make payroll, you really don’t worry about textbooks,” Cochran said of his district, which serves about 700 students and has been underfunded by a total of $5 million since 2011, according to The Parents’ Campaign, a nonprofit advocacy group that supports public schools.
Noal Cochran, superintendent of the Richton School District, says more funding would help him upgrade his schools, which were built with materials containing asbestos during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. (Photo: Jackie Mader
Cochran detailed his penny-pinching priorities for this small community east of Hattiesburg on a recent morning in front of the elementary school, where exposed pipes and electrical wires snake along ceilings. The school compound is mix of dilapidated brick buildings and aluminum trailers next to a field of rusty playground equipment.
With school underway throughout the state, superintendents like Cochran have few options for meeting their districts’ many needs, from classroom supplies to coaches. Since 1997, Mississippi has only fully funded its school